Scottish Labour MSP Paul Sweeney has urged ministers to treat the proposed four-vessel award to Ferguson Marine as a starting point for wider reform, warning that access to shipbuilding finance remains a barrier to winning commercial contracts.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament following the statement on the direct award, Sweeney welcomed the programme as critical to the yard’s viability, arguing that a clear demand signal is essential to sustaining shipbuilding on the Clyde.
He said the four-vessel package was “very welcome news indeed” because pipeline visibility is fundamental to maintaining capability. However, he questioned whether the award would be used as a springboard for rebuilding a competitive commercial shipbuilding sector in Scotland.
Sweeney argued that securing a steady flow of work and upgrading facilities to a modern, internationally competitive standard were necessary steps. He added that if Scottish yards are to compete for open market contracts beyond the public sector, structural issues must also be addressed.
In particular, he pointed to shipbuilding finance as a significant constraint. He said that difficulties in accessing appropriate financial backing were currently the main blocker to securing non-public sector contracts, and asked whether the government would move to resolve that issue.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes acknowledged Sweeney’s long-standing advocacy on behalf of the yard and agreed that the direct award should be viewed as a “means to an end”.
She said the programme provides work and gives the yard a future, but added that it is not the complete solution. According to Forbes, Ferguson Marine must use the opportunity created by the direct award and associated capital investment to modernise its operations, secure further work and rebuild its reputation to engage effectively with a broader customer base.
In the end ship financing is why China, Japan and Korea dominate shipbuilding.. government backed or provided, very cheap financing to pay for your ship.. both China and Japan hand out
billions to shipping companies.
Well outside of the Scottish government’s powers. They are subject to the procurement act passed by Westminster whether they like it or not. All contracts must go through a competition unless they can meet the exemptions in the act. Buying votes isn’t actually one of them
Respectfully, the Procurement Act 2023 does not prevent the UK from supporting domestic shipbuilding. It allows for “Most Advantageous Tender” criteria, including social value and resilience. Defence contracts can also be exempted on national security grounds. The real issue is not the legislation itself but whether finance and industrial strategy are aligned with procurement. If UK yards face higher borrowing costs than foreign state-backed competitors, procurement will naturally favour the latter unless that imbalance is addressed. Reforming ship finance is therefore essential to making procurement work for domestic industry.
Paul Sweeney is right to highlight that finance, not just orders, is a structural barrier to Scottish shipbuilding. Direct awards can stabilise yards like Ferguson Marine, but without competitive refund guarantees, working capital support and buyer credit structures, Scottish yards will continue to struggle against state-backed foreign competitors. The Procurement Act allows strategic weighting — the challenge is integrating finance reform with procurement policy so that UK taxpayer-funded ships genuinely strengthen domestic capability.